Just the D5200 has this new Toshiba.But it does look like Toshiba is trying to get into the image sensor business....Guess that puts a hold on getting a D5200 as a backup crop and video rig until I see some data on the performance of this sensor...

If you look at the same site under "recent teardowns", you can see the D600 which DOES use the 24Mp SONY CMOS! the same one that is used in the new Sony A99, RX1, etc..Brilliant 'little' sensor

The D5100/D7000 also uses a Sony CMOS sensor which, in benchmark tests, blew the barn doors off of the 5DMkII

I totally agree.

I have both the D5100 and D7000 and a 10 minute dark frame at 20 Celsius shows next to no noise at all. Their sensors are freak'in awesome!

Guylain

And yet people seem to still think Canon's the holy grail in terms of AP...

If people truly gave Nikon a shot and tested a D5100/D7000 out, they'd never go back.

The debate of dark frame noise is an academic exercise; technologically we know Canon and Nikon are at par or can be at par if they wanted to. Canon has something to show for 2 to 0 at least in coming up with cameras designed specifically for astro imaging; until Nikon creates an ‘a’ version of their model/s, status quo is going to prevail (and it will remain a measuring criteria how committed Nikon is to AP). Thx

And yet people seem to still think Canon's the holy grail in terms of AP...

If people truly gave Nikon a shot and tested a D5100/D7000 out, they'd never go back.

One of the problems with Nikon in the 46.5mm lens register, which makes it harder to use old camera lenses for imaging. Of course, a this will change whenever APS-C mirrorless cameras that have good tethering support finally come out.

The D5100/D7000 also uses a Sony CMOS sensor which, in benchmark tests, blew the barn doors off of the 5DMkII

I totally agree.

I have both the D5100 and D7000 and a 10 minute dark frame at 20 Celsius shows next to no noise at all. Their sensors are freak'in awesome!

Guylain

And yet people seem to still think Canon's the holy grail in terms of AP...

If people truly gave Nikon a shot and tested a D5100/D7000 out, they'd never go back.

The debate of dark frame noise is an academic exercise; technologically we know Canon and Nikon are at par or can be at par if they wanted to. Canon has something to show for 2 to 0 at least in coming up with cameras designed specifically for astro imaging; until Nikon creates an ‘a’ version of their model/s, status quo is going to prevail (and it will remain a measuring criteria how committed Nikon is to AP). Thx

I don't think it should be a matter of how committed Nikon is - or is not - in terms of astro-photography camera platforms, insomuch as it has everything to do with the perception that Canons are the Holy Grail despite four of Nikon's latest camera models blowing the barn doors off of their direct Canon competitors. The D5100/D7000 vastly outperformed the higher-end Canon 5DMkII in every benchmark test aside from video and in noise reduction - especially in low-light, high-ISO settings, both walked away from Canon.

DxO Labs, in fact, gave its sensor a score of 80, which was far above the ratings held by much more expensive Canon competitors.

And yet people seem to still think Canon's the holy grail in terms of AP...

If people truly gave Nikon a shot and tested a D5100/D7000 out, they'd never go back.

One of the problems with Nikon in the 46.5mm lens register, which makes it harder to use old camera lenses for imaging. Of course, a this will change whenever APS-C mirrorless cameras that have good tethering support finally come out.

Not at all true.

I shoot with older lenses on my D5100 and my images come out perfectly fine. In fact, I just shot two images concurrently of the Horsehead and Great Orion Nebula with a 25-year-old Spiratone 500mm mirror lens and a photo I took of the Andromeda Galaxy was shot using a Craig Optics 80-200mm zoom lens that came with a Nikkormat FTn 35mm SLR I purchased last summer.

I agree completely with Steve's assessment but perhaps I could clarify a few points?

Although it was nice that Canon acknowledged the astro community with the "a" models, they didn't really go far enough. The IR transmission profile was altered too conservatively and the AA filter retained leading most imagers to still modify their own cameras for better response. Canon should have offered their own version of the Astronomik Clip In IR cut filter bundled with the "a" models so that no custom white rebalance would be needed for regular photography and a more radical IR transmission profile then allowed. Perhaps Nikon saw the sales response and decided against offering a dedicated astro model.

Although the Nikon flange to sensor distance is too long to engineer an adaptor for other camera make's lenses, the T thread lenses from the 1960s and 70s will still work and I believe this is what Steve was shooting with.

There also has to be a cricital mass shift in the AP image acquision software to add good support for Nikon cameras.

Also there is still a lot of lag from the days that Nikon cameras automatically filtered out stars via in-built noise reduction and all the hacks required to defeat this. That started the "Nikon is no good" perception over 8 years ago.

There also has to be a cricital mass shift in the AP image acquision software to add good support for Nikon cameras.

Also there is still a lot of lag from the days that Nikon cameras automatically filtered out stars via in-built noise reduction and all the hacks required to defeat this. That started the "Nikon is no good" perception over 8 years ago.

And that "star-eating noise reduction" was completely eliminated upon the release of the D5100/D7000.

It was eliminated WELL before the D5100/D7000..In any case, it doesnt matter now anyways!

In fact, there is proof out there that SOME Canon models actually DO this! And have done this over the years with several models..I dont want to start a debate or anything..Just trying to show that people have been stuck on the "Holy Grail=Canon" for reasons that are very outdated and of no consequence now!Use whatever camera you have/can afford/feel comfortable using, and just get out there and shoot! Who cares if one is slightly better than the next...it is a never ending debate..and is really splitting hairs in some cases..

You all wanna talk about how Nikon outperforms Canon in terms of image noise and sensitivity? How about the camera brand that outperforms them all, PENTAX! The K-5 (II, IIs) outperforms ALL Canons and the D5100 along with the D7000 in terms of noise and sensitivity and really overall image quality. Its also weather sealed and cold proof. It has in camera image stabilization (YEAH image stabilization with your telescope! not that you would need it).

And for those of you that like to use old manual lenses, Pentax hasn't changed their mount in 30+ years. That means you can use any K-mount lens Pentax has every made.

Really, the only reason not buy a Pentax (or even Nikon) over a Canon is that you can't use BYEOS and those clip in filters may not work. There just really is no other selling point to Canon cameras for AP.

And did I mention the K-5 IIs has no AA filter allowing for sharper (higher resolution) images?

The D5100/D7000 also uses a Sony CMOS sensor which, in benchmark tests, blew the barn doors off of the 5DMkII

I totally agree.

I have both the D5100 and D7000 and a 10 minute dark frame at 20 Celsius shows next to no noise at all. Their sensors are freak'in awesome!

Guylain

And yet people seem to still think Canon's the holy grail in terms of AP...

If people truly gave Nikon a shot and tested a D5100/D7000 out, they'd never go back.

I really want to get a D5100 but I'd like to see more actual performance over a wider range of targets, with a modified camera, using various LP and NB filters. There just aren't many images out there at all...

The D5100/D7000 also uses a Sony CMOS sensor which, in benchmark tests, blew the barn doors off of the 5DMkII

I totally agree.

I have both the D5100 and D7000 and a 10 minute dark frame at 20 Celsius shows next to no noise at all. Their sensors are freak'in awesome!

Guylain

And yet people seem to still think Canon's the holy grail in terms of AP...

If people truly gave Nikon a shot and tested a D5100/D7000 out, they'd never go back.

I really want to get a D5100 but I'd like to see more actual performance over a wider range of targets, with a modified camera, using various LP and NB filters. There just aren't many images out there at all...

I've been trying to do that at least with my unmodified camera, however for the last three months I've been sort of precluded from doing so due to a persistent and rather soaking cloud cover that began in the first week of October. And lately, just when ya think things are clearing out, we get socked in again.

To say I've had a frustrating late fall/winter deep sky imaging season is a vast understatement.

I really want to get a D5100 but I'd like to see more actual performance over a wider range of targets, with a modified camera, using various LP and NB filters. There just aren't many images out there at all...

Why wait? A D5100 body only nowadays is just over the $400 mark ~ brand new. Granted, it's $400 buckaroos but it's not like it was 5 years ago where a Canon 40D was $2000.

The D5100 and D7000 have the same sony sensor... so if you can find D7000 images consider them the same as having been taken with a D7000.